*Author's note: Hey guys, sorry it's been a little while since I've posted. I'm really hard pressed to find motivation to write, and I don't find much inspiration in day to day life. I'm trying still to write this, and I hope this chapter doesn't feel forced. All reviews you can give me helps my motivation to write this story for you guys; I really appreciate all the support you guys give me :) Thank you :) Any critiques you have, please leave a review :) And even if you don't have a critique, please review, I need the motivation XD I hope you enjoy :)*
Cole could feel his eyes dropping as sleep threatened to take over. It sounded so tempting, to leave the lamp-lit room, covered in papers of all sorts, and stumble into bed with Zane.
He was now rethinking his decision to pull an all-nighter with Jay and Cyrus. He had clearly overestimated his ability to stay awake late into the night, and was beginning to question if he was being at all a help to his friends, being in such a tired state as he was.
Cole tried to focus on the leather back journal he was supposed to be reading, shifting in the uncomfortable wooden desk chair he was sitting in. The lamp on the wooden desk was the only light that lit the study room the monks had given them to work in.
To his stinging, tired eyes, the glare of the bright light was almost painful, making it almost close to impossible to be able to read the pages of Dr. Julien's messy scrawl.
The black haired man had been assigned the more boring task (according to him) of having to read the journal, in hopes of finding answers.
Most of Dr. Julien's entries were about simple, day to day things. Sometimes, he would document seeing a new person at the grocery store, someone he had never seen shop at that store before. But other than such a rare change as this, the man's life seemed a little redundant and uneventful. It seemed to pick up some, when the man decided to detach himself from society and live in a tree. However, that was as interesting as the journal entries got.
Cole's eyes strayed from the journal once more, his eyes drifting off to the walls. Cyrus had pinned all the blueprints he had been assigned to the room's walls, and stared at each one with a quizzical look, wheeling back and forth in front of the wall. It wasn't anything new, the blueprints he was analyzing. They had all gone over them millions of times before, hoping each time they would find some new note or hint written from Dr. Julien on the blue papers. They had yet to find any such thing.
His gaze then fell to Jay, who was parked on the ground, his blueprints surrounding him on the floor in a circle around him. The man looked deeply pensive, his wide open eyes indicating the grasp of tiredness was not an issue of his. Granted, the brown haired, brown eyed ninja had already had four cups of coffee, but his power to stay awake still amazed Cole nonetheless.
His green eyes fluttered close, his body slightly slumping as he slowly gave into sleep. Cole was never one to fight off sleep, no matter how hard he tried.
"Hey!" Jay snapped, catching Cole's tired slump. He immediately sat straight up, alarmed by Jay's sudden bark, "Don't you dare fall asleep, Cole. This is important, remember? Zane's life depends on us."
Cole tried to give him his most assertive, convincing head nod, trying to pretend he was awake. Jay rolled his eyes and sighed, but went back to to the blueprints around him, not having time to lecture his leader.
It was so hard to stay awake when Dr. Julien was so boring. All the inventor talked about was his loneliness, how he felt so isolated. Cole felt bad for the guy, he really did. But he couldn't help in thinking the man brought it on himself, starting with the decision of running away and living in a tree, isolating himself from all human life. With a painful amount of effort, he turned the slightly yellowing pages, greeted with more untidy scrawl and more self pity.
Cole felt himself drifting off again, when he was saved by Cyrus's sudden voice.
"There had to be a reason Julien shut off Zane's memory the first time he died." The man in the wheelchair said, furrowing his brow as he observed the blueprints on the wall in front of him. Jay looked up from the floor, a slight light in his eyes.
"Maybe he knew grief would cause Zane to malfunction?" Jay said, sounding somewhat hopeful for a possible revelation.
Cole frowned slightly, "Couldn't he just have not wanted Zane to feel grief? That sounds kind of like a stretch."
Cyrus Borg shrugged his shoulders at Cole's comment, "I think Jay could be right. Dr. Julien was an inventor, and we inventors do everything for a reason. He must have known there was a negative effect if Zane were to experience grief or depression. That would explain why Julien turned off the memories the first time, why Zane seems to be having a reaction uncharted in Julien's notes; He hadn't risked testing it out to see what would happen."
Both of the boy's eyes widened in horror.
"So Zane is going through something even his creator was weary about? What are we supposed to do if even if the man who created him doesn't know what to do?" Cole said, a slight frustration flowing through his veins.
Jay looked at Cole with an air of urgency, "I'm becoming more and more certain our answer is in one of those journals. Keep reading Cole."
Cole nodded and turned back to the journal, staring at the pages more intently.
He was upset, a burning feeling of anger boiling in the bottom of his stomach. Zane was going through so much, had been forced through so much pain and suffering. And for his creator to not have even known how to fix Zane in the state he was now, much less had an idea for what would happen; it made Cole feel hopeless. Lost and losing, feeling as though they would never be able to fix Zane again. He doubted there was anything in the journal that would help. Even in his doubt, he started flipping through the pages faster, wanting desperately to find the answer to their problem.
As he did this urgent page turning, his mind decided to wander, back to the memories he had of Zane. Back in the first few days they had met, Cole and Jay had no idea how to interact with the odd boy. Granted, they didn't know Zane was a robot back then, and therefore it was harder to understand the smart boy. But he had quickly become a part of their growing family, fitting in with all of the misfits that they were.
The first time Cole really ever remembered taking a liking to Zane was way back when they were all still trying to unlock their true potentials. They were living in his Dad's house at that time, trying to get a dance together for the dancing competition and win the fangblade cup.
As always, Cole was having a hard time living in harmony with his father. They never got along, and held resentment against each other. They had never been close, and neither of them tried to change that fact.
Throughout the practice, Cole constantly got the moves wrong, being criticized harshly each time he so much as put a toe out of exact alignment. Cole's temper was rising, as well as his father's, and they all called on a mutual agreement for a break.
During that break, Zane had pulled him aside and simply let Cole talk. To talk about a life where his father didn't care about him, where his mom had ran off to who knows where. to talk about the nights where his father didn't even speak to him, to the days where he lied to his father about where he was, running off to climb mountains rather than dance on a stupid stage.
That was the first time Cole really ever realized how much of a gem Zane was. How much the nindroid meant to the earth elemental.
And now, all Cole could think about was Zane, slowly dying, hooked up to a wire as a last resort, in an effort to save the boy's life.
Jay looked up from the blueprints, gazing at his leader. The black haired teen was looking down at the journal pages as if they had offended him. His jaw was tense in an anger and seriousness, that Jay had seen many times grace the features of their leader.
"Cole-" Jay began, wanting to comfort his friend. Cole was always one to bottle things up, not wanting to show things because he thought that was the role of being a leader. He wanted to tell his friend everything was alright. However, he was interrupted in surprise. Cole shot out of his chair, causing the object to tumble to the ground with a loud clatter. His large hands gripped the leather journal with alarm.
"It's here." Cole breathed. All hearts skipped a beat, Jay's inhale catching in his throat. Cole looked up from the journal with wide eyes, as if he was afraid to tell them what he was reading.
"Well? Tell us!" Jay exclaimed, his hands waving wildly in excitement. The broad-shouldered man nodded, swallowed, and began to read the journal entries of Dr. Julien.
I am now leaving the land of Ninjago. It has become too much, the pain and loneliness I live with day to day. I am about to board my boat, the Z.A.N.E (The Zealous, Adventurous, Notorious Expedition). I will be sailing to nowhere in particular. Wherever I shall land will be my new home, if I land at all. Hopefully I'll be able to find somewhere with life on it to keep me company. But even if it dosen't, that is not of concern for me. I want to escape, and I must do it now. I may not write much, due to the trials of the seas, but I will try and address my pages as often as I can. Until next time.
"Who's he talking to?" Jay asked over Cole's voice.
"Jay, no interruptions. This is apparently important." Cyrus corrected.
"Right. Sorry."
The seas have been rough on me in my travels. The Z.A.N.E is holding up well, considering the beating it is receiving. The Star Teeth, vicious sea creatures that like to eat sailor's ships to oblivion, have been trying to chew it away, but they are not succeeding. They have not evolved enough to chew through the metal of my boat. For now, the furious wrath of the ocean has not grasped me yet.
There have been many storms as of late. I have yet to see clear blue skies on this journey. This does not bother me, however. The ocean waves are enough to bring a smile to my face. It smells of salt water and fish, yet it smells fresh and enjoyable. It reminds me of the beach, from the few times I went as a child with Mother and Father. The fish out here are also not polluted, which is quite enjoyable. I have been fishing for food, which is plentiful. Just last night did I have Sacora fish, a delight that some people desire to cook and eat for their whole lives.
It sadly did not meet my expectations of a fish so highly desired. Maybe I just didn't cook it right.
For now, I have anchored, and have a couple of baskets and nets in the water for catching shellfish and other creatures with high protein. I am doing well, and I am hoping to come across land sometime in the near future. Until next time.
I am slowly running out of matches, which is not a good sign. I use the matches for boiling the salt water into drinkable water, as well as fires to cook the catches I make. I did not expect to be out at sea for this long. It has been roughly twenty days, and I am beginning to feel fatigued. The sun has come back out, which is bad for me, considering I am getting horrible sunburn from my work out on deck. I fear I will soon become malnourished, and therefore I will limit myself to a meal a day, in order to conserve the matches I still have. I am hoping to find land soon. I am filled with worry, of course, but I am still very much excited to be on this journey. The creatures in the water are amazing, and this is a great adventure to take notes and study their movements.
I cannot dwell on these creatures. But I do take joy in observing these animals and finding companionship with them. Just yesterday did I see a squid, and I swear he waved a tentacle at me.
I still hold hope for land. Wish me luck. Until next time.
After thirty six nights at sea, I have finally found land. And a good time too, seeing as how I have only five matches left. For now, my tent is hidden in the bushes in the perimeter of the forest. There is fresh water on this island, as well as a plentiful amount of flint. I came back after a day of exploring with a bag of water bottles, full to the brim with drinkable water, as well as handfuls of flint to start fires once my matches run out. I also returned to my baskets I planted on the shore line this morning, to find them filled with clams. As I write, I am eating a delicious meal of clams. This is a cause for a celebration, of course, which is why I have taken it upon myself to drink my first ever alcoholic beverage: Wine.
It has a very alien taste. I will not drink it again.
This island is warm and tropical, full of buzzing insects and chirping birds. The stars are beautiful at night, not affected by the light pollution that affected the skies of Ninjago back at home.
My only concern is the fact that I am seeing smoke off in the distance. I must not be the only one here, and I took precautions to hide the smoke from my fire. I do not want to alarm anyone of my presence. If the other inhabitants are not friendly, I do not want to cause a run in with them. Maybe tomorrow I will go searching in the shadows of the tall trees, and see who else lives on this small tropical paradise. Until next time.
I have found the people that live on this island. Apparently, they left Ninjago too, in the midst of the first serpentine wars. They call themselves the Chen clan. They have built sturdy, stone houses, and a nice small town with nice people living in it. They have invited me to stay in one of the empty houses they have in their town. I will be moving in tomorrow in the guidance of sunlight.
I must be weary of the Chen clan. I have a gut feeling that something is a tad bit off with them. The leader of the Chen clan has a small boy with a peculiar, clear crystal pendant hanging around his neck. There seems to be something inside that crystal. I am very intrigued by these people, but especially the small boy's necklace. I intend to learn more about it in the coming days of my moving in with the townspeople.
I have also made an acquaintance with a small fox on the island. It seemed to be very hungry, and when I tossed it a spare part of the fish I was eating, it ate it right away. It kept coming closer until it was only a few inches from sitting in my lap. It was nice to have a friend to eat dinner with. He was a good dinner friend.
I shall be moving in tomorrow, but I will not let my guard down. Until next time.
Today I had breakfast with the leader of the Chen clan. He seems very nice, but his goals and dreams make me weary. He told me he wishes to take all the elemental powers from the people who posses them. His son looks at him with fascination as he talks about such things. I fear this leader. I know a few people who have such powers, and to take away such powers would be to take away everything they have learned to live by. It would destroy their lives.
He said to extract their powers would make him powerful as well. It seems as though this man has very selfish intent. This man seems very evil. I do not like the way he holds himself above others. I have a feeling conversing and meeting this man will not end well for me. I will proceed with caution around this person in the future. Wish me luck as I hopefully dodge these obstacles. Until next time.
I have learned of the mystery of the crystal pendant around the small boy's neck. The frosty, moving material in the crystal is the elemental power of ice. I had to suppress the urge to cover my ears as the chief told me of the story as to how he gained the element. He had killed the man, as the person tried to get away from the leader of the Chen clan.
The leader was able to use the magical crystal from the caves of the island in order to absorb the powers of the man. He then let him die, without a glance back at the dying man.
I am making a promise to put those man's powers to good use. I am planning on stealing the necklace from the boy. That elemental power could be used as an unlimited power source. I could use it to create another boy, made to protect the unprotected, with powers made to help others, not to make a specific person powerful. That elemental master deserves more than to be encased into a crystal, that much I know.
I shall be dropping my stuff off back on the Z.A.N.E tonight. Once I steal the necklace, I will not be able to run with my many materials. I will immediately be hunted. Once I steal the necklace, I must immediately head to my home once more, to build a being powered by the element-infused crystal found in the depths of this island. I do not know if I will succeed, and I know that if I do not succeed, I will be killed. Wish me the best of luck, as I do the most dangerous thing I have ever done in my life. Until next-
Cole stopped reading suddenly, distracted by Cyrus moving away from the group quickly, wheeling over to the blueprints that he had hung up on the walls. He was looking at the prints with an intense gaze.
"I found it. A blue disk in his chest. Dr. Julien must have pressed out the crystal into a circle shape. That's what he's powered by. That odd blue disk is the unlimited power of the ice element." Cyrus confirmed, staring in awe at the blueprint, jabbing his finger at where the elemental disk lay.
"Well," Jay said with a frown on his face, "If it's unlimited, then why is Zane malfunctioning?"
Cole frowned down at the journal and began to turn the pages quickly. He had to find the time when Dr. Julien began to document his creating of Zane. There had to be a reason the ice element Zane was powered by was faulty now. Cole knew it had something to do with the intense grief the nindroid was feeling.
His fingers stopped turning, as his eyes fell upon the answer.
"Emotions." Cole murmured, tracing his thumb over the fading inked word on the paper. Emotions. It began to click, slowly, in his mind, fitting together with a slow creep, that was quickly gaining speed. A sickening click. If this was it… There would be no way to fix Zane.
"What?" Cyrus asked, pulling his eyes away from the blueprint to look at the ninja's leader.
"Emotions. The ice element that powers Zane fluctuates through emotions. Just like a human. 'His ice element is able to be used through how he is feeling'... That's how he was able to unlock the true potential of the previous master's element. He had a huge spike in emotion, caused by finding out his past... When he's hopeless or scared, he has a harder time summoning his powers. Just like Jay and I. His ability to use his powers stem from his emotions. What he's feeling." Cole explained. Jay jumped up and grabbed the journal from Cole's hands, reading the paragraph himself.
Jay's eyebrows furrowed in anger, "Why would Julien do that? If Zane experienced an emotional crisis, then he would not be able to use the element, therefore not being able to use his own core power source! What kind of inventor would do that?!"
There was a tense silence among the three of them. Cole felt sick to his stomach. How could Dr. Julien even do this to Zane? He had brought about his creation's own demise, and there was nothing they could do to fix him. His knuckles turned white as he dug his nails into his palms, chewing at his bottom lip, trying to hold in an explosion.
Explosions were never good. All of his team members had, at one point, been subject to them. They were rare spectacles, since Cole was always able to hide emotions well and keep them away. But when he burst, it was loud and scary. Cyrus chuckled under his breath, momentarily distracting Cole from his building anger.
"He wanted Zane to be human," Cyrus explained, staring up at the ceiling with a small, grim smile on his face, as if he found such a predicament sadly amusing, "He wanted Zane to have emotions, and was willing to take the risk of doing so."
Jay scoffed in humor, "So what, we just take him to a therapist and fix his emotions that way?"
Cole growled, a scowl forming on his face. Jay looked over in worry, knowing what that growl meant. He immediately regretted saying such a joke, even if he had been doing it to try and lighten the mood. The leader bit down on his bottom lip as hard as he could, drawing blood as he tried to hold in the rising anger.
Anger for the inventor, who put Zane's life at risk. Anger at the world, for giving them more problems, just as they thought they had found peace. Angry at himself, for falling in love with a man that could never return the feelings back. Anger. Pure anger.
Jay stumbled, the ground beginning to softly rumble, like the purr of a cat. Cyrus latched his hands onto his wheels, trying to move against the shaking and steady himself.
Jay observed as Cole's eyes became a darker shade of green. They were losing their companion fast, the anger soaking into his very being. He tried to reach for Cole, to do anything to pull the man out of it, but the ground shook again. This time, it was a stronger tremor, and it threw Jay off his feet.
"Cole!" Jay cried desperately, "Don't burst! You're going to make this whole building come down!"
As if on que, the building shook. The lamp that had lit the room fell off the desk, smashing to the floor and, in consequence, flooded the room in darkness. There were screams heard from the town below as the earth rumbled violently beneath their feet. There were shouts in the hallway, and someone threw open the door to the study. Jay could make out Misako's face in the doorway, the sliver of moonlight from the window falling on her face.
"It's Cole! He's-" Jay tried, when the building shook and rocked, the loud creaking of the wood above them giving off a horrible feeling that it would collapse. The hanging lanterns out in the hall were swaying back and forth, as if they were in the Z.A.N.E, experiencing a rough and wild storm at sea.
Misako was able to stumble into the room, and lurched forward to grab Cole, the momentum of the quake taking her there. She held onto the black haired teen, who was tense and solid, fists curled tightly.
"Cole!" She yelled in his ear, trying to pull him out, "Cole, stop this!"
The only response was a tear, streaking down his cheek as the earth rumbled on.
Then the crack happened. It sounded off in the distance, some many miles off. It sounded as though the ground was splitting open, the earth breaking at the seams. Misako wouldn't have been surprised if Ninjago City was beginning to feel the tremors.
The wind threw open the glass window, forcing it off it's hinges, flying through the room and almost crashing into Cyrus. The man was able to maneuver out of the way, just in time, the glass instead shattering on the wooden floor.
Cole seemed to be glaring down at one object, as the wind tousled his black hair around his face. A journal, Misako noticed. The pages were flying, as if the wind was reading through it quickly. This was Dr. Julien's journal, last time she checked.
The old woman gasped, as she suddenly understood what was going on.
They had found out something about Zane. And it was not good.
Now, Misako was no idiot. She knew when someone was in love with the other. The way Cole looked at Zane, the way he stared at the teen as if all the light in the world radiated off of the nindroid; Cole was head over heels, and as of right now, very scared for the man he loved. He needed Zane. Misako could see it in his tears. Zane would be the only thing to get him to calm down, and stop the earthquake before someone got seriously injured.
"We have to get him to Zane!" Misako yelled over the roaring wind and shaking ground. Jay tried to crawl off the ground, but was knocked down once more.
"We can't move!" Mr. Borg yelled back, his wheelchair sending him backward into the wall.
"You take him!" Jay yelled at Misako. The brown haired boy was beginning to take shelter under the desk Cole had been working at, assuming the worse, figuring this earthquake was not going to end well.
Misako grabbed Cole and began to drag him as best he could. The teen was heavy, like a large boulder. She couldn't make much progress, with Cole as stiff as he was. The ground rumbled louder underneath them, indicating they would be too late to be able to make it to Zane's room.
She jumped as she felt a warm hand fall onto her shoulder, gripping tightly to her in an effort to steady the person the hand was connected to.
"I'll help you." Garmadon said over the violence, and he grabbed Cole as well.
They began to tug together, dragging the earth elemental down the hallway. Neither could hear the grunting of the other over the earth's tremors.
They burst into Zane and Cole's room, to find Zane wide awake. His icy blues were wide open, and his hands were clutching the bed sheets in fright. There were sparks coming from the outlet. This was not good. If the electricity went out, so would Zane.
Cole became soft in their hands, as if he had suddenly been able to gain some control over his mind. His eyes fell to Zane, who looked back at Cole with a fright unseen before.
The man wrenched himself out of the adults grasp, running to Zane with a fear in his eyes. The nindroid looked shocked as Cole threw himself on top of Zane, as if protectively keeping him from the world outside. He gripped Zane's shoulders and pressed his forehead to his, teary eyes and surprised ones looking back at one another.
"We… We can't… We can't save you…" Cole managed through sputters, before the tears flowed out of his emerald pools. Zane's eyes widened at the words, watching as his leader became undone above him, reduced to a shivering, shaking, crying mess. The salty tears began falling onto Zane's cheeks, making him jerk in surprise by the sudden wetness. The shakes of the earth rocked the ceiling above them, but as far as the two were concerned, that was of no concern for them. In that moment, the only thing in the universe was the two of them, grieving together.
Zane felt like crying too. Here was his best friend, losing all control because of him. He would forever have to be hooked into a wire, never able to walk or save the world again.
Granted, he did feel like the man above him was overreacting a little. The crying mess before him was breaking apart, as if his universe was hinged on Zane. As if Zane was the center of all that he cared about. Zane felt a light feeling in his chest at this notion, as if it made i'm happy or even giddy, in such a somber time. He shook the feeling free, and turned his attention to his best friend, who needed him now.
The nindroid closed his eyes, bringing up his arms and wrapping them around Cole's neck. With the maximum amount of effort he could use. He slowly pulled down the man with the grip he had on his neck, gently laying him on top of his cool body. The temperature of Zane's skin seemed to calm the boy down slightly, the tremors lessening in their power as well.
He saw the two adults leave the room out of the corner of his eye, leaving Cole and him alone in the dark. Cole was still trembling, his body racking with caught breath, trying to calm himself down.
Zane slowly ran a hand up and down Cole's back, softly and carefully, trying to ease his leader. The tremors stopped at this, and Cole's breathing slowed to an even breath. The feather light brushes felt so heavenly to him. They felt so right.
Sleep began to overtake Cole, who was rapidly calming down from his outburst. He rolled off of Zane, flopping onto the side of the bed not occupied by the boy. Zane shifted to follow Cole, the two facing each other on the bed, staring into each other's eyes.
"I'm… I'm sorry Zane. I don't know what came over me. I… I can't… I can't live in a world without… Without..." Cole tried, his voice shaking and cracking with emotion. Zane shook his head and wrapped his arms around Cole, bringing him in closer to press against his body.
He liked the feel of Cole's body against his, skin against skin. It was calming, it was loving, it was peaceful. Without thinking about what he was doing, he strained his neck, and placed a soft kiss on the man's dark cheek. Cole gasped slightly, loving the feeling of the smooth cold lips caress his heated skin. It was bliss.
Cole knew he wasn't sharing a kiss in any romantic sense. Zane did not feel that way about him. But he could still fall into a satisfied silence, not letting the tingle of the fade from his cheek.
The two of them fell asleep there, Cole falling asleep to the bliss of the kiss, and Zane slowly falling asleep to the confusion, wondering why he had enjoyed kissing his best friend the way Jay enjoyed kissing Nya.
He had been screaming in his cell all night, screaming profanities that the guards did not enjoy. Many of the fellow inmates pleaded with Morro, wanting nothing more than the enraged screaming to stop. But the teen refused, as stubborn as he was, and made sure none of the ghosts got sleep.
And this is why he sat alone during free time. No one wanted to be near Morro, too angry at him to reach out a helping hand. He had been rude to them, and so the cold shoulder seemed to be the punishment everyone thought he deserved.
Morro told himself he couldn't care less. He liked pouting in the corner, giving off his fair amount of death stares to all who dared to look back at him. He was in rage, having been replaced by the only person who ever seemed to care about him or what he did. Pulled off drugs and trash cans, Sensei Wu had saved Morro, giving him a good home and a good life, promising the small boy that he would one day do great things.
If only Morro could go back in time and tell his child self that every word was a lie.
The teen was too busy, wallowing in his self pity, to notice the purple form from the day before approach him.
"Hey."
Morro jumped, immediately pressing a scowl to his face as he looked up at the purple, pulsing shadow. He once again resorted to glaring at the general area of where the thing's eyes probably were, seeing as how they were not see-able in this form of the Overlord.
"Bugger off, Overdork." Morro growled. He expected the purple shadow to stalk off, not letting his immortal pride to be tainted with rude insults. Instead, to Morro's immediate surprise, the Overlord chuckled.
"Ha. Overdork. That's new." The Lord of evil commented, his dark voice tainted with what sounded to be a smile. Morro was too surprised to counter with one of his witty remarks, and instead stared at the Overlord in a state of awe. Taking this as an invitation, the Overlord sat down with Morro.
The boy with the green highlight immediately composed himself, his scowl returning to his face.
"What do you want." Morro demanded.
"For someone to defeat those ninja and take over Ninjago. It's about time they get a change of scenery." The Overlord said, the smile still evident in his voice. Morro snorted at this wish.
"Yeah, tell me about it. They deserve a little bit of a beating. They gotta lose." Morro agreed. Now, he didn't really mean all of that. Sure, he wanted to maybe kill Lloyd. But to take over all of Ninjago? Now that seemed to be a little unnecessary. However, Morro was simply just trying to make conversation, and also trying to get the Overlord to leave.
"Well," The Overlord said, "There is a way, if you do it tonight, to get back to Ninjago and give those ninja a taste of what it feels like to lose."
Morro's scowl slipped off completely, his full attention now on the Overdork. Normally, Morro didn't like falling for baits and offers. But this was far too good to give up.
"What do you mean…?" Morro pressed, his curiosity plain as day on his face. The Overlord smiled a devilish smile to himself.
"Well, you see, my arrival into the cursed realm has caused sort of a… rift, shall you say. A rift in the realms that, if you catch it before it disappears tomorrow morning, you can be reunited with Ninjago." The Overlord said, relishing in the malicious twinkle that glinted in the boy's eyes.
Morro could feel himself getting carried away, and tried to bring himself back. The overlord was the lord of evil, and was a deceiver, a being with a wicked way in words. His eyes squinted in suspicion.
"Where is this rift? And how should I know if I can trust someone like you?" Morro asked. He knew that if he could see the evil doer's face right then, he would be able to see the evil grin gracing the lord's lips.
"You can find out tonight, if you'd like. It'll be on the third floor, men's bathroom. Come there at eleven tonight, if you dare to take a chance." The Overdork said. He watched as a malicious grin formed on Morro's lips at the offer.
"Taking chances is my favorite hobby."